Spanakopita is one of the most popular Greek foods. The flaky phyllo dough combined with the savory spinach and feta filling – what’s not the love?! There are many good spanakopita brands available at grocery stores but in my book, nothing beats the homemade kind. If you make them at home, you can determine the ratios of each ingredient. You can go heavier or lighter on the dill, add extra onion, or even mix things up with two different kinds of cheeses.
Our family recipe uses extra virgin olive oil instead of butter for the phyllo. If you prefer to work with butter, simply substitute the olive oil in this recipe for extra virgin olive oil.
The process steps below illustrate how to make both individual spanakopita triangles and a large family style pan of spanakopita. The triangles are wonderful for entertaining but a little time consuming when you’re looking to make a quick spinach pie for dinner. This recipe gives you both options.
Ingredients
- 1 pound chopped spinach
- 1 large red onion
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped dill
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- 15 ounces feta cheese
- 1 egg
- 8 ounces phyllo dough (1 roll)
Preparation
Preparing the filling
- Peel and chop the onion
- Place the olive oil, onion, spinach, and dill in a large sauté pan with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Cook on medium heat until the onions are soft
- Once the onions have softened, set aside and let cool
- While the spinach is cooling, preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Once the spinach has cooled for 10-15 minutes, place in a large bowl and mix together with the egg and feta
- Open the phyllo package. From this point onward you will need to work quickly as the phyllo will start to dry and become brittle
For spanakopita triangles
- Cut the phyllo in half
- Place a tablespoon amount of filling in the top corner of the dough strip
- Lightly brush the phyllo with some olive oil and fold the phyllo and filing in a triangular shape
- Use two of three strips to wrap the filing
- Place the triangle on a baking sheet and brush the top with some olive oil
- repeat the process until you have used up all of the phyllo and filling
For a family style pan pie
- Select a pan that is large enough for the phyllo to lie flat
- Lightly brush the bottom of the pan with olive oil
- Place the first phyllo sheet in the pan and brush with olive oil
- Repeat the process with the first half of the phyllo sheets
- Cover with the spinach and feta filing
- Layer the remaining sheets of phyllo overtop brushing each one with olive oil
- Cut the phyllo with a sharp knife prior to baking. You can cut it into squares, triangles, or diamond shaped slices
- Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown
